If you’re in the same room as Chrissy Teigen, you’ll know she’s pretty, funny, and talkative. She’s also pretty funny, pretty talkative, and pretty damn pretty. She has a dog, dates John Legend, used to love A-Rod, and wouldn’t mind hosting “The Soup” someday. On Thursday afternoon SI made me a part of Chrissy’s hectic schedule. Most of what transpired is below.

I got to the Las Vegas Fashion Show Mall right as Chrissy, Alyssa Miller and Kate Upton (calm down everyone) were sitting down to sign copies of the 2011 version of the swimsuit edition. After an hour of autographing and picture-taking it was on to the next event for the pretty girls and I got to tag along with Chrissy. First, she went upstairs to Everything But Water, which houses clothing for good-looking girls. (Ideally.)

Chrissy is going to All-Star weekend in LA. She doesn’t know basketball as well as baseball or football, but she’ll give it her best. She’ll definitely be at D-Wade’s charity event where John Legend is preforming.

She grew up in Seattle, but went to high school in Huntington Beach, California.

“I waited a long time to get into modeling. Most girls these days start when they’re 14-15. My dad made me wait until I was 18. He made me wait until I was out of high school. He was very protective. I finished high school, I moved up to LA. I got my first campaign. It was Bilabong and that was plastered everywhere. International. It really took off from there. I’m not your typical runway girl.”

[first interruption as many people walk by and talk to Chrissy]

Chrissy doesn’t feel like she’s the typical runway girl because they really don’t like the emaciated look. Blake bless. Being professionally good-looking wasn’t Chrissy’s first career choice.

I wanted to go to culinary school. That was the dream. I love to cook. I love food. Obviously, that clashes with this job, but I love cooking and lengthy long dinners. Anytime I can do a tasting at a restaurant and it becomes a 3-hour meal, its my favorite.

[second interruption, but this was ok because it brought beer]

I definitely didn’t want to be a model. I was going to study broadcast journalism. I always wanted culinary school because it was my passion. I wanted a cooking show. It would be called The Insecure Chef because I’m really insecure after I cook something. It’s always great, but I don’t believe everybody. You’ve got to be pretty secure in yourself to think you can feed a whole restaurant full of people.

Brooklyn Decker met Chrissy and might have been the main reason she ended up with SI.

She made a phone call. Actually shot an e-mail to MJ Day saying I met this girl, I think she’s a model, but I’m not sure. They obviously love Brooklyn and respect her. Whatever she said, they obviously trust her to bring someone into a meeting

Surprisingly, putting on a bathing suit wasn’t a part of the audition.

I had a month to prepare last year. Being a rookie with a month to prepare is not fun.

So officially famous, Teigen lives with her boyfriend John Legend, in Los Angeles and New York. She calls it a “normal everyday life” and has a 50-pound bulldog she stills calls a “baby.”

People think that when you get Sports Illustrated you’re set. You’re out and you’re known. Direct bookings. For me, I’ve gotten television stuff out of it. For me I’m doing the casting thing. Sitting in castings with 200 girls and I despise it. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a room with 200 women, but its not as fun as you might think.

She doesn’t want to act, but she wants to be snarky on television.

Something along the lines of Best Week Ever or The Soup, which she would love to take over.

“I just want to shoot myself when I hear what they’re saying on these entertainment news shows. I just don’t care.

Live comedy. Comedy shows. It’s hilarious because its all new people. It just takes the biggest balls to go out there and try to do that for people. Me, I would love to write and maybe put something snarky out there.

“I think we need a girl to get out there and be snarky and funny and not such a kiss-ass. Its just ass-kissing and I can’t do that without wanting to go home at night and hating myself.”

We had a long week at the Super Bowl. Teigen was there with fellow model Anne V and they visited radio row.

It’s a room full of 400 men. You kind of feel like you’re the best looking person on Earth automatically because there are no women there. You’ve got to be thick skinned for those sports lovers.

She’s into baseball and her father helped build…

[another interruption – this time a couple models and posse members walk by and yell]

She’s been a sports fan all her life. Her father helped build Safeco and Qwest fields in Seattle, though she still wants to call Qwest “Seahawks Stadium.” Her prom was at… Qwest and that’s why she’ll never forget it.

[Guy walks by that acts like he knows her but she doesn’t know him]

That’s not her only tie to Seattle.

“This is really disgusting, but what got me into baseball in the first place was Alex Rodriguez. He was such a beautiful child to me. And now he has blossomed into a completely different person. Really, I love him, then Ichiro came along and my mom was in love with him. I remember Edgar Martinez came to my school to speak and then my fandom moved on to Texas when A-Rod went there.”

Now Chrissy is a Yankees fan, despite A-Rod. I didn’t question any of this. No point in rubbing the 2003 World Series in when no one is asking for it.

Despite her ties to Qwest – nee Seahawks Stadium – she’s not that into football. On Sunday’s her attention turns to cooking for Legend and their friends.

“We try to have 10-12 people over, like a small crowd for a New York apartment. You know, the games start so early so I start drinking early and by the end of the… I’m on the ground sometimes with a crock pot.”

Being a baseball fan, she attended a couple Angels games. Apparently, Francisco Rodriguez had his manager scout her as a prospective girlfriend when she was at a game.

“We can’t go to games anymore. It’s not as fun. It’s not as innocent. It’s annoying.”

She attended the baseball All-Star events in Seattle and will never forget A-Rod skipping his photo event.

“I’ll never forget that. I used to go to his website when I was 12 or 13 or something and they’d have ‘Ask A-Rod,’ and I don’t know if he didn’t have many questions, but he’d always answer mine. It was creepy. I was creepy. It’s like today when these kids love Twilight and I’m thinking why do you love Twilight? They would be like, why would you love A-Rod?”

Most of the people that recognize Teigen or Legend recognize the singer. Teigen is mostly known by her Twitter followers. Ironically, while we were driving back to the Hard Rock, Legend called because the desk clerk wouldn’t give him a key to his girlfriend’s room. Thanks a lot, Bin Laden.

“I don’t like the whole suite thing. It’s not the same. Before we were out in the crowd, in the mix. It was so much fun. They want to keep you inside. The Super Bowl was great.”

(Chrissy and Anne were 8 rows deep on the 50-yard line. You know, just like everyday Bob Sports Patron. And yes, Chrissy realizes how that sounds.)

I was on the Steelers side, but I wanted a cheesehead so bad. I did have a Steelers jersey. I threw it on the ground half-way through and started spitting my peanuts onto it. Did you do the same thing? You did, right? It was brutal.

The Situation was there. The amount of convincing it took to get him to take a picture with me and Anne V was amazing. He literally rolled over the couch. It was quick.

I’ve been around round tables with brilliant people. Respected people. Very good people and you can’t imagine who watches it. I was surprised.

I’m so excited they’re going to Italy. They’re barely Italian.

JWoww is starting to get beautiful. That’s when you know you’re a fan. You love someone and then you start to realize they’re getting hot.

Pauly has my heart.

We both agreed that Pauly and Vinny had become the funniest ones on the show in an intentional way. Chrissy thinks The Situation’s lines seem rehearsed and I didn’t even have the energy to ask about how awful Sam and Ron were together.

Right now, Eastbound and Down is… I just had an intense conversation about Eastbound and Down yesterday for two and a half hours. I had no idea what it was. I thought it was a race car driver or something. I just didn’t give a shit about it. We downloaded the season on iTunes. The second season isn’t available so I haven’t even watched it. I’m so jealous because I have no idea what’s going on in the second season.

The fact that she went on to describe chapter 1-through-6 wasn’t enough

“Whenever I’m feeling down, I put on the episode where they have the barbecue at her house and they’re at the laundromat. And he’s like “Honey, I love you, but you dress like a dickhead.” “I was them to create an Oscar category for that show because its so great.

She’s a huge fan of The Office. Andy Roddick and Brooklyn Decker have a charity event and one of the auctions is for a visit to the set of The Office.

“I bid an absurd amount. It just turns into a contest, which is unfortunate for John.”

“Someone needs to write Jim and Pam off.”

With chef dreams, of course, she’s obsessed with Kitchen Nightmares and Chef Ramsey.

“I watched six episodes in a row the other night. Literally, you know you have no life. TiVo in LA has all my dirty shit, like Bad Girls Club. Anyway, John says ‘we have to go to dinner.”

Fine. They go out and Chrissy says she saw Ramsey on a billboard. Legend accuses her of being obsessed with Ramsey which she doesn’t deny. Obviously, when they get to dinner they’re sitting next to Gordon Ramsey.

“I know how it is when you’re eating dinner and its rude obviously, but man, I was like shaking and now I regret it of course. I didn’t want to go up and be like, ‘I’m your biggest fan!’

From here on out, I’m a die-hard Chrissy Teigen fan. I really don’t know how else to say it. She’s hot, funny, and likable. And she has the common decency to leave Gordon Ramsey alone in public. What’s not to like?

Stephen Douglas

Born and raised in Mid-Southern Upstate New York, Stephen holds a master's degree in public communications. Money well spent? I'd say so. These days he jokes about sports on the Internet. Professionally.